


Perhaps we're meant to be

by Lets_go_Karasuno



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst but only a little bit, Happy Ending, M/M, More tags will be added later, Multi, University Students, established relationships - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 04:54:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26467510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_go_Karasuno/pseuds/Lets_go_Karasuno
Summary: Akaashi and Bokuto so firmly believe that they are soulmates, I mean, why wouldn't they be? They're practically perfect for each other and their personalities compliment each other in the best possible way, so of course they have to be soulmates.Sure, Kenma and Kuroo know how important the idea of soulmates is to society, it's practically what everyone ever talks about, but it's not the most important thing to them. What's important is each other.So what happens when the two couples make a discovery that could possibly change their whole world? What if being soulmates isn't everything it's made out to be?
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji/Kozume Kenma, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	1. The discovery

Akaashi sighs as he stares at the mark on his wrist, exiting his class of the day. His professor had decided to give everyone a lecture about soulmate marks again because why not? Then again, his professor hated the idea of soulmates, because he hated the idea of “the one” because it suggests that anyone you love or loved before finding your soulmate isn’t important to you. If Akaashi was going to be honest, he’d agree. It’s sad to see people throw away the people they love purely because they found their soulmate and therefore, they don’t matter anymore. It’s even more sad when people get so hooked on the idea of finding “the one”, and then never meet their soulmate, and it’s worse when their soulmate dies before they cross paths.

Sometimes the idea of soulmates is really uplifting, and sometimes it’s tragic. But it’s not tragic for Akaashi, because he knows that Bokuto’s his soulmate, even though the marks on their wrists are different. The marks on a person’s wrist say the time that they either first see or first meet their soulmate, and Akaashi’s sure that his and Bokuto’s marks are the former rather than the latter. He can practically feel it in his bones that they’re meant to be, and that puts him at ease, that he’s already spending his life with the only man he’ll ever love like this.

He wonders how Kuroo and Kenma manage the whole soulmate ordeal. Afterall, they’d made the decision to keep their marks invisible, meaning that they could only feel the rough outline of a box-like shape on their wrist, rather than being able to see their time stamps. He wasn’t sure why they decided to do that, but he was sure they had their reasons, plus, it’s not like it’s mandatory to be able to see your soulmate mark, so there’s technically no problem with their situation. Akaashi and Bokuto on the other hand, had decided to find out their marks the second they were both in university together, and signed up to get their marks covered in ink to reveal their time stamps. Although their time stamps said different things, Akaashi was sure that Bokuto was his soulmate. 

Akaashi’s brought out of his thoughts when he receives a text message from Bokuto.

_ Hey, hey, hey! Has your class finished? We’ve got an hour before we need to meet up with Kuroo and Kenma, so we need to get ready 😊 _

Akaashi smiles before he types his answer:  _ Yes Kou, my professor just rambled about soulmates for a little too long. I’ll be there soon, so don’t worry yourself _

\--

The two couples, Kuroo and Kenma, and Bokuto and Akaashi, had a habit of meeting up once a week, or once a month if they ever ran into complications with scheduling. Although most of these “meet ups” were either all four of them just hanging out with each other and catching up with what they’d missed, or double dates (although they never called them that, they most definitely were double dates).

This time, they decided that they were going to have a movie date at Kenma and Kuroo’s house, but Akaashi was little sceptical about how much movie watching was actually going to happen. Hopefully they’d actually be able to watch a movie this time, rather than just getting distracted by one of Kenma’s games or volleyball videos (sometimes they even played volleyball instead, but Kenma didn’t like smaller matches where there were only four players because that meant that he had to move more, so those matches weren’t frequent).

By the time Bokuto and Akaashi had arrived at their friends’ house, Kuroo had already made two big bowls of popcorn and was scrolling through a movie selection while Kenma was busy with a game. Quite the typical scenario for the pair.

“How about this one?” Kuroo asks, looking at Kenma over his shoulder, “It’s a horror, I know you like those,”

“Hmm, but Bokuto and Akaashi don’t like horror movies, they’re not that type of couple. Anything action on there?” Kenma responds, still not looking up from his game.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s watch an action movie!” Bokuto says as he takes his shoes off and hurries to the living room.

Akaashi shakes his head, but follows his boyfriend nonetheless, sometimes Bokuto can get a little too excited, but it’s also really cute, so Akaashi lets it slide most of the time.

Akaashi sits next to Kenma on the floor while Bokuto walks over to Kuroo who’s closer to the tv, but still on the floor. That was something Akaashi had noticed whenever he visited Kuroo and Kenma’s house, even though they had sofas in their living room (and all over the house really), they seemed to prefer sitting on the floor. It wasn’t necessarily odd, Akaashi knew a lot of people liked to sit on the floor, but in a way, he thought it was cute, especially when Kenma did it (he really looked like a cat). Although saying that, a lot of things Kenma does are cat-like, but that wasn’t the point.

Akaashi looks at Kenma’s game and notices that he’s almost defeated the boss, so he decides to whisper his thanks, hoping that he won’t disturb the man too much. He leans a little more towards Kenma and whispers, “Thank you for that Kenma. I’m not one for horror, and I don’t think I’d be able to handle even trying to watch one today,”

Kenma shrugs, “I was just doing what anyone would’ve done. It’s not just a movie for me and Kuro, so you and Bokuto should be comfortable as well. But I have a feeling that Bokuto’s going to be loud with anything that’s on, so that won’t make much of a difference,”

“Regardless of Bokuto being loud, thank you. I really appreciate it,” Akaashi responds. He and Kenma don’t really talk much, they’re both rather quiet people, but it’s nice to know that Kenma pays attention to things like that. He would’ve felt guilty if everyone wanted to watch a horror movie and he was the only one who didn’t want to, so he was glad that Kenma spoke up even when Akaashi didn’t know the movie options. Something about that just made Akaashi’s heart feel warm.

“Hey Bo!” Kuroo shouts as Bokuto brings him in for a hug. “Woah, woah, someone’s a little touchy today,”

“What, am I not allowed to miss my best friend?” Bokuto asks, pulling away from the hug, before plopping down on the floor next to him.

“You are, but with how touchy you are sometimes, people will start thinking that we’re a couple,” Kuroo says, shaking his head, “and I can’t have that. I’m loyal to my Kitten, and I don’t want anyone else thinking otherwise,”

“Fine, fine, Kuroo. I’m loyal to ‘Kaashi too, but it’s not like I was going to do anything,” Bokuto says, trying to defend himself.

“Didn’t you two kiss at some point?” Kenma asks, still looking at his game, waiting to move onto the next level.

Akaashi looks at Kuroo and Bokuto in shock, “you two kissed?”

“No, no, you’ve got it wrong Akaashi. Kenma’s just twisting the truth,” Kuroo glares at Kenma, who notices and smiles. Sometimes he loves riling up Kuroo.

“So you two didn’t kiss then?” Akaashi asks, folding his arms.

Bokuto groans, “ugh, no, and it’s just a long story. I don’t want to tell it,”

“Before we all started dating, Bo and I made a bet with Daichi that if we didn’t confess to you guys by the end of the training camp, that we’d have to kiss each other,” Kuroo explains. “And we were both wimps and too scared to confess then, so we almost ended up kissing. But then Daichi said that we didn’t have to because it would look bad to the other teams if the captains from Nekoma and Fukurodani were caught kissing, so it never happened,”

Kenma snickered, he already knew the story, but it never failed to amuse him.

“I guess you two really do have a bromance then,” Kenma says, “to think that you almost ended up kissing as well, that’s too funny. But it’s your own fault,”

“Oh, we know,” Bokuto replies dejectedly.

“Ah, that makes sense. But why do you sound so sad Kou? Did you actually want to kiss Kuroo?” Akaashi asks, an evil smile on his face.

“Wha – no! But if Daichi hadn’t said that, then my first kiss would’ve gone to Kuroo, and not you baby, and I don’t like thinking that that could’ve happened,” Bokuto answers, with a sad puppy look.

Akaashi blushes and his heart melts, sometimes Bokuto’s too cute for his own good.

“Bo, that’s so adorable,” Kuroo comments. He always knew that Bokuto was a sap, but this was just too adorable.

Kenma however, is immune to Bokuto’s apparent cuteness, the guy’s just too loud and too comfortable everywhere he goes for Kenma to think that he’s cute. “But Daichi didn’t call off the bet did he?”

“No, why?” Kuroo asks.

Akaashi looks at Kenma and sees the sly look in his eyes. He instantly knows what he’s up to, and decides to join in on the fun.

“Because” he draws out, “if the bet was never actually called off, then you still need to kiss each other,”

“Akaashi’s right, you two didn’t confess before the end of that training camp, and you didn’t kiss when you were meant to. The only reason you didn’t kiss was because Daichi said that it would be weird for your reputation as captains,” Kenma explains.

Bokuto and Kuroo sit in silence, trying to digest what their boyfriends just said. Technically, they weren’t wrong, and it’s not like kissing now would damage their reputation when it’s just the four of them, and they’re not part of their high school volleyball teams anymore.

After a moment of silence, Bokuto asks, “Do you want us to kiss then?”

Kenma shrugs, but Akaashi considers for a moment. He doesn’t necessarily want Bokuto to go around kissing other people, but it’s just Kuroo, and he can watch them, besides, they’d just be doing their part of an old bet.

Akaashi nods, “You still have to do your part of that bet, so go ahead,”

Kuroo looks at Kenma and asks, “Are you okay with this Kitten?”, to which Kenma nods his head.

“Are you okay with this Bo?” Kuroo asks.

“I’m fine with it. It’s just one small kiss anyway, and they’re here,” Bokuto points to their boyfriends, “so yeah, I’m okay,”

“Close your eyes then,” Kuroo says as he leans forward, pulling Bokuto towards him.

When their lips touch, a small, bright light flashes throughout the room and Akaashi and Kenma cover their eyes. The two of them look at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to their boyfriends.

Kuroo pulls away from the kiss first and looks at Akaashi and Kenma. “Well, that wasn’t terrible,” he laughs, “I’m surprised your boyfriend isn’t a bad kisser Akaashi,”

Normally Akaashi would’ve chuckled at that (a lot of people seem to underestimate Bokuto’s general skills, and he knows more than anyone that Bokuto is a good kisser), but he’s more distracted by the fact that a bright light appeared when his boyfriend kissed one of his best friends. That was concerning, and while he didn’t entirely know the reason for the light, something about it made his stomach sink. Something felt wrong.

“Woah, Kenma, you didn’t tell me Kuroo was such a good kisser,” Bokuto says when he finally opens his eyes.

Unlike Akaashi, Kenma actually laughs quietly. “We’ve had a lot of practice over the years, so naturally he’s a good kisser,”

“Aww, baby, you admit that I’m a good kisser?” Kuroo teases, poking Kenma’s shoulder.

“Shut up Kuro,” Kenma replies, swatting away Kuroo’s hand.

“Hey, are you okay Keiji? You look like something’s bothering you,” Bokuto asks when he notices that his boyfriend is more lost in thought than normal.

“When you two kissed, there was a small flash of light,” Kenma explains, knowing the reason why Akaashi’s so quiet. Everyone knows that when you and your soulmate kiss or start to have romantic feelings for each other, that the mark on your wrist with the time you saw them or met them either fades or changes colour. But sometimes other things happen as well when soulmates do things like that, such as the weather changing or literal sparks surrounding them, and so on.

“Oh,” Kuroo says, his face dropping. He knows what that means.

“What?” Bokuto asks. “Just because there was some light, it doesn’t mean anything. There’s no way to prove that,” he says desperately, looking at Akaashi who already looks doubtful about what he’s saying.

“But there is Bo,” Kuroo replies as he looks down at his right wrist. He feels around his wrist for the rough box-like outline of his invisible soulmate mark, only to feel smooth skin. The mark had disappeared. 

“No, no, that can’t be right,” Bokuto says, grabbing Kuroo’s wrist, “maybe you’re just looking at the wrong spot. It’s got to be there somewhere.”

Bokuto frantically searches for Kuroo’s soulmate mark on his wrist, turning his hand over and over again in case it just magically disappeared and then reappeared again, but to no avail. Tears threatened to spill over, this couldn’t be right. Sure, he loved Kuroo, but not in that way. The only one he ever loved, will ever love, in that way, is Keiji, the man who won’t even look his way.

“No, no, this can’t be right,” Bokuto says with tears in his eyes, looking at his quiet boyfriend, “it’s you Keiji, I promise it’s you baby. There’s no one else, and there never will be. It’s only you, it’s got to be you,”

“Check your wrist then,” Akaashi replies quietly. There have been cases where people can be soulmates to several people at once, but they’ll only have one mark, normally for the first soulmate they met, but they were rare. They were so, so, so rare, and Akaashi had a feeling that this wasn’t a rare case.

Bokuto takes a shaky breath and closes his eyes before quickly pulling his hoodie sleeve up his arm. He opens one eye and examines his wrist, only to find it blank,and devoid of a time stamp. His soulmate mark was gone. He’d met his soulmate and kissed him, and it wasn’t even Akaashi. Bokuto wasn’t always the best at describing his feelings and putting them into words, but he was pretty sure that the word for this feeling was heartbreak.

“Keiji, I – I don’t know what to say,” Bokuto says in a broken voice, “I thought it was you,”

“It’s fine Koutarou,” Akaashi replies, as he curls up into a ball, hugging himself.

While Kenma can’t say that he feels exactly the same way as Akaashi, he understands the pain of knowing that the person you love isn’t the person you’re meant to end up with. Kenma shuffles closer to Akaashi and whispers to him, offering to play a game or go to bed early as a distraction.

Kuroo realises what Kenma’s attempting to do and drags Bokuto out of the room.

“What are you doing?” Bokuto sniffles as he struggles against Kuroo’s grip. “I need to be with Keiji,”

“No you don’t, you need to be with me, at least right now you do,”

“But that doesn’t make sense, I want to make sure that he’s okay,”

“I think it’s best that Akaashi has a little time alone right now, or at least spends time with Kenma, seeing as they’re on the same side of this. Talking to each other might make this whole thing worse,” Kuroo responds. He knows he sounds like he’s sort of talking out of his ass right now, but he also knows that he’s somewhat right. Obviously everyone’s a little shocked about this discovery, but that doesn’t mean that they need to talk about every single detail right away, it’s probably best for everyone to know, or have some idea, of where they stand before they try to do anything about it.

“Okay then, but only for Keiji,”

“Right, right, only for Keiji,” Kuroo replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the end of the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, then please keep an eye out for updates as I will try to update this as much as possible :)


	2. The aftermath pt.1 (Akaashi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi doesn't quite know how to feel about Bokuto and Kuroo being soulmates, but he does know that he doesn't exactly feel happy about this.

Kenma wasn’t always the best at handling other people’s emotions, especially during situations like this where no one really knew what was going to happen. The sudden discovery that Kuroo and Bokuto were soulmates basically threw everyone out of the loop, and it seemed like Akaashi was taking it the hardest. Sure, Bokuto was crying (and being loud about it of course) but he was trying to calm down Akaashi’s sake. Akaashi, on the other hand, was being more quiet than usual, he was basically silent, and he looked so small and vulnerable curled up in a ball. Kenma felt sorry for him, he’d never seen Akaashi so fragile looking, when he normally had good control over his emotions. 

“I know that ‘Are you okay?’ seems like a redundant question right now, but are you okay?” Kenma asks.

“No,” Akaashi replies, although his response is muffled with him currently covering his face with his jumper sleeves.

“Do you want to play a game? Or you could just watch me play. Games are a good distraction sometimes,” Kenma says quietly, but Akaashi simply shakes his head. He doesn’t know why he suggested to play a game, considering he knows that Akaashi isn’t necessarily one for games, but it was worth a shot.

“What about taking a nap? Sometimes things are easier to deal with once you’ve slept on them, you can sleep in the guest room if you want,” Kenma says, hoping that he’ll at least take that offer.

Kuroo must have caught on to what he was doing, because Kenma could hear Bokuto being dragged out of the room sniffling. Good, he didn’t think it was a good idea for them to be together right now until they sorted themselves out first, he was just glad that Kuroo seemed to agree on that.

After a moment, Akaashi turns to look at Kenma, “thank you for the offer, but I think I just want to go home,”

Kenma nods in affirmation, that’s not the answer he was hoping for, but at least it’s something.

“Come on then, I’ll take you home,” Kenma says, standing up and reaching for Akaashi’s hand.

\--

Somehow, Akaashi manages to not break down until he gets to his apartment, but the moment Kenma leaves and he closes the door, he falls to the floor and bursts into tears.

This wasn’t fair, he and Bokuto were meant to be soulmates, not Kuroo and Bokuto. He felt wronged, so badly wronged by the universe, and to think that just earlier that day he’d been thinking about how he was already spending his life with his soulmate, when it was all a lie. The different time stamps weren’t the times they first saw each other, they were different because it wasn’t them who was meant to be. They were different because they’re not soulmates.

He’d never felt so much despair in his life. He never thought he’d ever be this sad about Bokuto of all people. Bokuto, the light of his life, the man who always managed to make him smile no matter what, the man who made him feel warm and at home whenever he was around. Bokuto wasn’t his and he wasn’t Bokuto’s. Surely this was the universe’s way of telling him that he wasn’t good enough to be with Bokuto, it had to be. What else could it be other than that?

He clutched a hand over his heart as if he could stop the pain of the heartbreak. It was a crushing feeling, like there was no way out of this apart from to keep feeling the pain, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. There was no hope now, how could he and Bokuto stay together when they’re not even actual soulmates? Akaashi tried to calm his breathing down, if he did that, then maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much, maybe it would be easier to deal with.

Akaashi stumbled up the stairs, he didn’t want to end up crying himself to sleep before even reaching his bed. When he finally reached his bedroom, he dropped down on his bed and hugged his pillow. He knew that by doing so he’d most definitely get tear stains on his pillows, but he didn’t care. He cared more about being comfortable while he thought things through.

He felt his phone buzz and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was a text from Bokuto. He wiped his eyes so that he could just about make out what the text said.

_ I’m sorry, I thought it was you. I’ll be staying over at Kenma and Kuroo’s until everything’s sorted. I hope you’re okay _

Akaashi didn’t know how to reply, so he just left it on read. He wanted to talk to him, he really did, but he wanted to at least talk to someone who would understand the situation before any of them went any further.

Obviously, there were people were familiar with situations like this, where the person they love isn’t their soulmate, but he wondered who he could call. He could talk to Kenma, but he had a feeling that they had different views on what just happened, and he wasn’t sure if he could deal with hat right now. Right now, he just needed someone who understood his side of things.

He scrolled through his phone contacts, his thumb hovering over one particular name. Without a doubt, that person knew what it felt like to be in his position, he just hoped that they wouldn’t tell him that all hope was lost.

“Akaashi, you never call, what’s wrong?” the person on the other side of the phone said.

“Oikawa, I just need to talk. Something has happened, and I’m not feeling too great about it, but I know you went through something similar,” Akaashi replies.

“Ah, alright then, go ahead Aka-chan,”

“Bokuto and I aren’t soulmates,” he says it quickly because he knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll feel even more upset. Saying it out loud feels even worse than just saying it to yourself alone in your head.

Oikawa sighs, “so are you telling me this because of Iwaizumi and Ushiwaka?”

Akaashi feels slightly ashamed of himself, he doesn’t want to bring up Oikawa’s past like this when he himself is in such a downtrodden state. Oikawa went through enough without him calling and asking how he dealt with it, but he needed to talk to someone who would understand.

“Yes,” Akaashi admits quietly, “I know that you and Iwaizumi… had a past before it was found out that he and Ushijima are soulmates. And I’m sorry if I’m bringing up anything painful, but I need to talk to someone who understands,”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me right now, it’s yourself that you should be worrying about. Sure, I’m still hurt about it, but the universe does what the universe does, you know,” Oikawa replies.

He can tell that Oikawa’s just saying that to make him feel better, and in a way it does, but only by a fraction.

“I just don’t know what to do, I feel so empty and yet so overflowing with emotions. I feel like this is all wrong, like some sort of twisted joke, like the universe finally picked up on the fact that sometimes I don’t feel good enough, and then agreed with that by slapping me in the face with this,” Akaashi says. 

Oikawa’s silent for a moment, considering how he should respond. He’s been in a similar position as the previous Fukurodani setter, and he doesn’t want to add insult to injury. Obviously, the situations are slightly different, but it’s the same principle; the person they love isn’t their soulmate.

“Well who is Bokuto’s soulmate? I would probably be able to help more if I knew that,” Oikawa rubs the back of his head awkwardly. “I mean hey, it can’t be as bad as Iwaizumi’s soulmate being Ushiwaka, now that was really something,”

Akaashi laughs, “No, no, it’s not as bad as that. Although I am sorry you had to experience that, having your high school enemy be Iwaizumi’s soulmate, must have been hard. Kuroo is Bokuto’s soulmate,”

“Kuroo from Nekoma? Damn, that’s hard,” Oikawa whistles. “They’re really close, aren’t they?”

Akaashi was silent for a moment, “Yes, they’re good friends,”

“At least you’re on good terms with Kuroo and you know that he’s in good hands if they decide to do anything about it. But I don’t think that they will, Bokuto loves you too much to just leave you for Kuroo, and I’m sure that Kuroo adores Kozume too much to do that either,” Oikawa says. He may not have been close with either of the couples, but he did know that they loved each other like no one else ever could. They poured their hearts and souls into each other and their relationships, there was no way any of them would leave each other. 

“Bo won’t leave me, I know that. And I know Kuroo won’t leave Kenma either, but it’s not that I’m worried about that. It’s just that, it feels wrong that me and Bo aren’t soulmates, considering how well we work together. Obviously, we can still be together, but it feels odd that we would all stay the way that we are considering the circumstances,” Akaashi says. He didn’t know what to do about this. Bokuto wouldn’t just up and leave with Kuroo, after all, he cared more about Akaashi when they all found out.

“I agree with that, I don’t think either of them are so low that they would leave you or Kozume. But yes, I know how you feel about that. It felt wrong, in fact it still feels wrong, that me and Hajime aren’t meant to be. But Hajime thought that it was best that he was with Ushiwaka, which is perfectly fine. It definitely hurt, but at the end of the day, you have to respect your partner’s wishes. So if anything happens, don’t get too hung up over it, it’s not your fault,” Oikawa advises. It was strange talking about the situation with Iwaizumi, yet at the same time, it was a relief that he wasn’t the only one who was a victim to the soulmate system. If he had to spill about Iwaizumi in order to help Akaashi, then so be it. 

“If Bokuto wants to go with Kuroo, I’m not going to blame him. I suppose the main thing about working this out is being respectful, we don’t have power over anyone else’s actions. Thank you for this though Oikawa,” 

While Akaashi still wasn’t sure how they could all work through this, he definitely felt calmer and less panicky about everything. He wouldn’t say he felt at peace with everything, he still felt so crap. He’d somehow managed to fool himself into thinking that he and Bokuto were soulmates, even when their soulmate marks were different, but he couldn’t change the truth.

“It’s okay, I don’t know how much more I can help, but you can call me anytime if you want,” Oikawa replies. “Before we end the call, just consider this, you and Bokuto may not be soulmates, but at the end of the day, he chose to be with you, not Kuroo,” 

Something about that made Akaashi smile a small smile. Maybe the universe didn’t choose him for Bokuto, but Bokuto chose him for himself.

“That’s a nice thought, thank you Oikawa,” Akaashi says. “I’ll be sure to call if I ever need your advice again, although you can call me about Iwaizumi if you want,”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Oikawa declined, “I’ve had my time to think about it and sort through it. I hope everything goes well for you,”

“Thank you again Oikawa, it’s greatly appreciated,”

“No problem, good luck!”

\--

Akaashi felt a lot better after the call, he didn’t even end up crying himself to sleep, which was a relief. He hated the idea of ending the day on a sad note, hence why he was so glad when Oikawa decided to carry on their conversation after all their soulmate talk. It was nice catching up with Oikawa, even though they didn’t talk often. Apparently Oikawa planned on doing professional volleyball in a foreign country, to test his limits and how much he can achieve (also to beat Ushiwaka, but that wasn’t his main goal in life). And as much as Akaashi was perfectly fine without professional volleyball in his life, he looked forward to the day when he could maybe see Oikawa Tooru himself beat his long-time rival Ushiwaka. It would certainly make for an intense and entertaining match.

After ending his call with Oikawa, he decided to turn his phone off. Too many people were concerned about him, and he didn’t want to deal with that right now. He was too busy thinking about what he was going to say to the others. He definitely knew that he wanted to talk to Kenma first, and then the two soulmates, but how would he go about doing that? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the end of the second chapter! Sorry it was a little bit angsty, I just thought that Akaashi would be heartbroken about this, but I promise it gets better later on. 
> 
> Hopefully I'll make an upload schedule soon so you guys don't have to worry about checking when I'm going to randomly upload.


	3. The aftermath pt.2 (Bokuto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto feels distraught after finding out that Akaashi isn't his soulmate, and Kuroo attempts to make him feel better, and maybe Kenma tries to help as well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that it's been almost a month since I posted, I already had this chapter written but needed to comb through it and sort it all out before I posted and university makes my life busy

Kenma had left their house with Akaashi about ten minutes ago; he was probably going to be arriving back soon, unless Akaashi asked him to stay, but Kuroo doubted he’d ask. Although Kenma and Akaashi were essentially on the same side of this situation, their reactions were drastically different, so he wasn’t sure if Akaashi would want Kenma around for any longer than necessary. But in the ten minutes since the two had left, Kuroo had dragged him into one of their offices and had watched as Bokuto dropped to the floor next to one of the desk chairs. Bokuto had not uttered a word, but rather stared at the floor as tears rolled down his cheeks and refused to talk to Kuroo. Deciding to stay with Bokuto, Kuroo sat on one of the armchairs to at least offer his friend some company.

“How’re you feeling?” Kuroo asks, his voice laced with concern

“How’re you feeling?” Bokuto replies mockingly from his place on the floor. “How do you think I feel Tetsurou?” He stares at Kuroo with a hard gaze.

Kuroo sighs and moves from his place on the armchair, sliding down to sit next to Bokuto. “Like crap?” he asks as he cards his fingers through his messy hair.

“Worse, so much worse. I mean, how could this happen? It’s not meant to be us two,” Bokuto aggressively gestures between himself and Kuroo. “It’s meant to be me and Keiji, and you and Kenma, and that’s it. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

“Look,” Kuroo says, “I know you’re disappointed and shocked, and I know Akaashi is more than upset about this, but we don’t have to do anything about it, you know? We can just keep on doing what we were before.”

“What do you mean?” Bokuto asked, looking at Kuroo with red and tired eyes.

“I mean,” he says, leaning back on his hands, “just because we’re soulmates doesn’t mean we have to get together or anything or break up with Akaashi or Kenma. We can just treat it like a thing, but not something important, if that makes sense,” Kuroo pokes Bokuto’s arm before continuing. “Sure, the universe or whatever believes that we’re meant to be together, but that doesn’t mean we  _ have  _ to be together. And besides, who says we’re not just platonic soulmates and not romantic soulmates?” 

“Huh, platonic soulmates? Like friend soulmates?” Bokuto asked, playfully shoving Kuroo’s hand away. “But I thought soulmates are meant to be like, you know, romantic. I mean, that’s what we’ve always been told.”

Kuroo playfully shoves at Bokuto’s shoulder, “Yeah well, you’re not meant to believe everything you’re told anyway. Just because that’s what we’ve all been told doesn’t mean that you can’t form your own opinions. I mean, what evidence even is there to say that it’s all about romance?”

Kuroo watches Bokuto intently as he thinks about what he’s just been told. He knew they had differing opinions about soulmates and all of that, especially with how he and Akaashi reacted to the situation, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just meant that they firmly believed that they were destined. A small smile graced Kuroo’s lips, that was a rather endearing thought actually.

“I guess so, there isn’t actually any science behind it I suppose,” Bokuto says, rubbing his chin.

There’s a sound of soft footsteps pattering throughout the house, and then the door to the office creaks loudly as Kenma enters the room.

“Hey,” Kenma says as he sits down next to Kuroo.

“How’s Akaashi?” Bokuto immediately asks.

“I’m not too sure. He didn’t talk much, and he seemed like he really wanted to be alone, so I let him be,” Kenma replies as he hugs Kuroo’s side.

“You just let him be?” Bokuto said somewhat angrily, turning to look at Kenma and pointing at him, “You know he’s devastated and you just ‘let him be’?”

Although he didn’t like the tone in his voice, Kenma didn’t shy away. Even without the knowledge that Bokuto and Akaashi are perfect for each other and wholeheartedly believe that they’re meant to be, it was obvious from his eyes (and the loud crying he’d heard before he left), that Bokuto wasn’t feeling too great. He had every right to be angry.

Kenma shrugged, looking at Bokuto head on, “It felt for the best. There isn’t anything I can do to help him at the moment. I’d probably make him feel worse.”

Bokuto was silent, so Kuroo decided to add on to what Kenma said. “Akaashi’s the type of person who likes to sort out himself and his feelings all on his own, you know that.”

“I know that,” he replies sadly, once again turning his attention to the floor. “It’s just that I have you two, or at least you Tetsurou, to talk to about this. But who does he have?”

Kenma pulled away from Kuroo and reaches over to Bokuto, rubbing a hand on the ace’s knee. It probably wasn’t as comforting as it was meant to be, but Kenma ignored that. “There’s a lot of people who have been in a similar position, I’m sure Akaashi has someone to talk to.”

Bokuto stares at Kenma’s hand with a sad smile, before putting his hand atop of it, “Thank you Kenma.”

While Bokuto and Kenma share a comfortable silence with Kenma trying his best to comfort his friend, Kuroo pulls out his phone and looks at the time. If they’d have gotten round to watching a movie, it would probably still be playing right now, it had only been about half an hour since they had found out. He sighs and considers texting Akaashi, or at least a few of their friends to update them about the situation but decides against it and puts his phone away. This was a private matter between the four of them, he didn’t need to be dragging other people into it just yet when nothing had been resolved.

“Hey Bo,” Kuroo says, catching the attention of both his friend and his boyfriend, “I know this is probably weird, but I think you should text Akaashi, just in case.”

“Text him what?” Kenma asks, now drawing circles on Bokuto’s hand.

“Yeah, what am I meant to say? I thought you said that us talking to each other would make things worse,” Bokuto says curiously. As much as he definitely wanted to talk to Akaashi, if Kenma and Kuroo didn’t think it was a good idea because of their current states, then he wasn’t going to argue with them anymore, they were obviously thinking with clearer minds right now.

Kuroo scratches the back of his head, obviously not too sure himself. “I don’t know, maybe just a confirmation about how you feel and that you’ll most likely be staying here tonight.”

Bokuto wasn’t always the best at picking up on people’s tones, but he knew that although what he said was a statement, it was most definitely phrased like a question.

“Are you sure?” Bokuto said with a doubtful look on his face.

Kuroo nodded although Kenma himself seemed a little doubtful as well.

“I’m not too sure if it’s a good idea, but I don’t think there’s any harm in telling him that you’re staying here tonight since you obviously can’t go back to his place. And since your places are quite close, I think it would stress him out knowing that you’re so nearby when he’s going through a lot,” Kenma comments quietly.

“Alright then,” Bokuto pulls out his phone and types a text before showing it to Kenma. “Is this okay to send?”

_ I’m sorry, I thought it was you. I’ll be staying over at Kenma and Kuroo’s until everything’s sorted. I hope you’re okay _

Kenma shrugs and nods, “Yeah, I think that’s okay. It’s straight to the point and isn’t dancing around the subject without being too direct.”

Bokuto turns his phone to Kuroo, who nods in affirmation. And with that, he sends the text, and puts his phone away. He didn’t want to dwell on it for too long.

“So, how’re you feeling now?” Kuroo asks, hoping that his friend is feeling at least a tiny bit better.

“Uh, tired. I feel better than I did earlier, thanks to your talk, but the idea of platonic soulmates is still so new to me. And I’ve,” Bokuto pauses and takes a shaky breath, “I’ve loved Akaashi for so long and I’ve fallen for him so hard, that it’s a foreign thought to me that we aren’t soulmates. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s never once crossed my mind that we aren’t soulmates, it was never a possibility to me.”

“So why does it have to be a possibility now?” Kenma asks. “You love Akaashi and think you’re meant to be, right? So, who’s to say that you aren’t meant to be?”

“The soulmate mark that’s no longer on my wrist, obviously.”

“Never mind then, I don’t feel like explaining it right now,” Kenma replies.

“I’m confused,” Bokuto says with furrowed brows. “But how are you guys feeling about this? You both seem fine, meanwhile me and Akaashi are both a mess.”

“I’m not that bothered,” Kenma says, shrugging, “I don’t really care about soulmates anyway. I’ll be with whoever I want to be with.”

“Same here,” Kuroo replies nonchalantly , “I’m not too bothered about it. I love Kenma and I wouldn’t even dare think about being with someone else.”

“You genuinely don’t care?”

“Remember what I said about not believing everything you’re told and forming your own opinion?” Kuroo pokes Bokuto’s arm. “Well that’s what I did. I don’t care who my soulmate is, I love Kitten the most and that’ll never change.”

Kenma blushes, he hadn’t expected Kuroo to use that nickname, especially not now.

“Aww, that’s so cute. But don’t suggest that I don’t have my own opinion on soulmates, because I do have one. And it’s that my true soulmate is Akaashi!” Bokuto announces proudly.

Kuroo and Kenma smile, Bokuto was always so proud of his love for Akaashi that you couldn’t help but smile whenever he announced it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the third chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, because I definitely did. It was nice to write about Bokuto and Kuroo together, I haven't written about the two of them in a while. This chapter should hopefully be the last kind of angsty one as things start looking up soon, for all four of them, so look forward to that :) 
> 
> I will try to keep posting on the weekends, but I can't make promises. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a good morning/afternoon/night


	4. Cafe Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi finally feels able to talk to someone else other than Oikawa about what happened, this time he's talking to Kenma and things actually go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, it's been a few months but I'm finally here with a new chapter! And things are looking up from here on with everyone, so hopefully there won't be as much angst later on haha

Akaashi was on his laptop, looking over the details for his next classes when Kenma had arrived at the cafe. He’d decided to take Oikawa’s advice and talk to Kenma somewhere that wasn’t too public but wasn’t too private, and the cafe near their university was just the right kind of place. And he knew that it would be better for Kenma that way.

The cafe was a decent size, and it smelled heavenly inside. It was obvious that they baked their own goods, there was a warm kind of feeling when the smell hit you, it was inviting. Some kind of pop song was playing over the radio when Kenma arrived, pushing the cafe door open and looking around for Akaashi. It didn’t take him long to find the other student, his back facing the entrance, and the large window by his side. 

‘Thank you for coming to meet me, I know you’re busy today,’ Akaashi said, shoving his laptop into his bag and onto the floor before Kenma sat down. 

Kenma nodded, dropping his cat backpack on the floor (a present from Kuroo who insisted he use it for university). 

‘Well, I’ve only got one class today, but I’ve just had that,’ Kenma replied tiredly. 

‘Were there a lot of people?’ Akaashi asked. 

Kenma nodded again, folding his arms and resting his head on top of them. ‘They decided to join the classes so that it would be easier to “deliver the content” or whatever. They didn’t tell us about it until we were actually in the class.’ 

Akaashi frowned and reached out a hand, stroking Kenma’s head. He was sympathetic; he knew that Kenma was anxious around lots of people, so having that sprung on him wouldn’t have been good. 

‘Do you want to order something? I could get you an apple pie, or we could go somewhere else to talk,’ Akaashi said quietly, looking around the cafe. Thankfully there weren’t too many people here, but there was just enough that you could hear snippets of other conversations that drifted around the cafe. How many people was too many people for Kenma? Or is this automatically too many because his class presumably doubled in size? Surely it would be better if - 

‘Can I have some apple pie?’ Kenma asked, muffled. ‘And maybe a milkshake?’ 

Akaashi chuckled and smiled. ‘Of course you can. I’ll go order it now.’ 

Akaashi stood up to go order and Kenma grabbed his hand, mumbling. ‘Not right now. Can you keep stroking my head?’ 

Akaashi sat back down, smiling. ‘Of course. But I’ll have to order soon if you want it before you go back to your house.’ 

Kenma nodded but said nothing further as Akaashi continued stroking his hair.

It was a while later when Akaashi was actually able to order and for Kenma to get his apple pie and milkshake, but it was worth it. Kenma had just needed to recharge a little before talking about what they were inevitably going to talk about. Kenma sipped at his milkshake as he stared at Akaashi. There were dark circles under his eyes, not unusual for a university student, but they were more prominent than usual. He hated the idea that Akaashi was losing sleep over something that was out of their control, in fact, he hated the idea that Akaashi was losing sleep in general. There was a small smile on Akaashi’s face, but there was no doubt that was just Akaashi trying to hide his troubles and be polite in public. Kenma noticed the small laptop in a bag at the foot of the table, he hadn’t seen it when he’d first arrived but it was likely that he was probably doing research or trying to get ahead of his classes like usual. 

‘How’re you feeling?’ Akaashi asked, noticing Kenma staring at him. ‘Not too out of it?’ 

‘No, I’m not out of it. I’m just tired, not as much as earlier though.’ 

Akaashi nodded, ‘That’s good. I can’t imagine it was fun to have a class with twice as many people as normal.’ 

Kenma shook his head. ‘No, it wasn’t.’ 

‘Have you told your -’ 

‘Kuro told most of my tutors about it. I don’t know if they’ll do anything though, but I know that Kuro’s going to ask about it,’ Kenma replied, fiddling with his straw. ‘You don’t have to worry about my classes though, you shouldn’t take away the focus from yours.’ 

‘I haven’t taken away the focus from my classes, I’m just concerned about you,’ Akaashi said quietly. 

‘And I’m concerned about you,’ Kenma said just as quietly. 

‘What?’ Akaashi stared at the man across from him. 

Kenma shrugged, ‘The whole soulmate thing is stressful, I know, but I don’t think you should throw yourself into your uni work to make yourself feel better. You can’t pretend like doing good in your course is all of a sudden going to make the soulmate thing better. We just need to work on it.’ 

Akaashi was shocked, ‘How did you know that I’ve been doing more work?’ 

Kenma shrugged again. ‘I know you, you like to feel like you have control even when you don’t. So when you don’t feel control over one thing, you make yourself feel control over another to make yourself feel better, or something like that.’ 

‘Oh, right,’ Akaashi said. Sometimes it was scary how well Kenma knew him, but he wasn’t going to complain about it. 

‘But we’re not here to talk about that, are we? We’re here to talk about Bokuto and Kuro.’ 

Akaashi nodded, ‘Yes, that’s what I was hoping we could talk about.’ 

‘Do you want me to go first?’ Kenma asked, before biting into his piece of apple pie. 

‘Um, if you want to, then go ahead,’ Akaashi replied. 

‘Well I’m sure you know how you feel about it, were you going to ask how I feel?’ 

Akaashi nodded again, ‘I know we feel… differently about it, but I wanted to see your perspective of things before I talked to the others.’ 

‘Well I’m glad you mentioned talking to the others, but we can get to that later. I don’t mind that they’re soulmates, truthfully. It’s always been me and Kuro, and I can’t see it another way, but I understand how you feel in a way.’ 

‘I don’t mind either, it’s just that,’ Akaashi was wondering how to word it. ‘I know it’s out of my control, that I can’t control whoever is my soulmate, but it just doesn’t feel right. I’ve always felt very solid about me and Kou, that something was… there, I suppose.’ 

Kenma nodded. ‘I think there’s always been something there with you and Bokuto. You work so well together, you’re practically made for each other, so I get what you mean.’ 

‘But then there’s this part of me, this stupid, annoying part of me that thinks this is proof that I’m not good enough for Kou. Kou deserves the world and so much more, and I feel like I can’t give him what he gives to me, so not being his soulmate makes me think that I wasn’t good enough to be with him anyway,’ Akaashi admitted, averting his eyes. He didn’t want to look at Kenma, he didn’t want to see that look of disappointment that was going to be there. 

‘Bokuto makes you happy, right?’ 

Akaashi nodded. 

‘And what do you think you make him feel?’ Kenma asked. 

‘I don’t know,’ Akaashi replied quietly, fiddling with his fingers. 

Kenma sighed, ‘Look, Bokuto is loud to put it plainly. But when he’s with you, he’s loud in a different way. He’s unabashedly himself when you’re around, but he knows the little things about you that make him dial certain things down. He doesn’t scream as loudly when he’s watching something with you, but if he’s with Kuro, he doesn’t give a damn that it’ll piss off our neighbours. He shines brightest when you’re there, he’ll smile and laugh more when you’re in the room. He’ll watch you and have this look on his face that screams just how affectionate he wants to be with you. So I’m pretty sure you make him happy too.’ 

Akaashi wasn’t fiddling with his fingers anymore, he was too stunned, unsure what to say or what to make of Kenma’s speech. He knew that Bokuto was careful when he was around him, but he didn’t know that. 

‘You’re more than enough for Bokuto, you always have been. All Bokuto cares about is you,’ Kenma said smiling. ‘He said that he’s loved you for so long that the idea of not being soulmates feels wrong.’ 

‘Really?’ Akaashi looked like he was trying to not cry. ‘He said that?’ 

‘It was something along those lines, but I can’t speak for him. If you want to know what he actually said you’d probably have to ask him,’ Kenma paused for a moment. ‘Or Kuro, Kuro might remember exactly what he said.’ 

Akaashi laughed, of course Kenma would say that. He didn’t like quoting others when he wasn’t sure, and Kuroo would definitely remember. ‘Thank you, Kenma.’ 

‘Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?’ Kenma asked, sipping his milkshake again, it was almost empty now. 

‘Hmm, I think I might be okay for now. You don’t mind the soulmate thing, right?’ 

‘Well, not really. Some part of me feels disappointed in a way, but it’s only a small part of me. Kuro’s always chosen me, so I don’t feel put off by it,’ Kenma shrugged. 

‘Pfft, well I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s disappointed,’ Akaashi laughed. ‘But if you want to talk about it more, I’m here. It must be hard talking to Kou and Kuroo now.’ 

Kenma shrugged again, unsure how to reply. ‘It’s not exactly hard, but I suppose me and Kuro have been more concerned about Bokuto. He’s not a mess, just, trying to figure things out.’ 

Akaashi hummed, he understood that a little too well. It was hard trying to figure things out, it was like trying to rewire your brain in a certain way. 

‘What do you think will happen now?’ Akaashi asked. 

‘Hm, dunno,’ Kenma shook his glass trying to get the remainder of his milkshake. ‘I guess we’ll only know once we’ve all talked about it. Probably better to know the direction we’re going in when you and Bokuto have talked.’ 

Akaashi nodded, ‘That makes sense. I guess that means I have to talk to Kuroo soon too.’ 

‘Well you can’t just avoid him,’ Kenma joked. ‘He’s your boyfriend’s soulmate, you’ve got to talk about it at some point.’ 

‘That’s true, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to do that,’ Akaashi replied. 

‘It doesn’t have to be right now, we can take all the time we need with this,’ Kenma said. ‘But are you okay for now?’ 

Akaashi nodded, ‘Yeah, I feel better about this now, I guess we’ve just got to wait and see where it goes.’ 

‘Right,’ Kenma nodded. His phone pinged and he grabbed it out of his pocket. Ah right, he needed to go. ‘I’ve got to go now, is it okay if I leave?’ 

‘Mm, of course it is,’ Akaashi chuckles lightly. ‘It would be rude of me to stop you from leaving, we’re students after all.’ 

‘Pfft,’ Kenma says as he grabs his backpack from the floor, slinging a strap over his shoulder. ‘Don’t stress out too much about it, we’ve got to figure this all out at some point. Doesn’t have to be right now though.’ 

‘Of course. Oh, before you go, could you tell Kuroo and Kou that I say hi and I hope that they’re well? I would text them, but I don’t think I’m ready for a conversation with either of them just yet.’ 

‘Thought you’d ask,’ Kenma said smiling. ‘I will.’ 

‘Thank you,’ Akaashi replied, and with that, the other man left the cafe. 

Akaashi opened up his laptop again, thinking about what he should do now. He really had been throwing himself into his work to make himself feel better. Perhaps he should calm down with it for now, then again there wasn’t anything wrong with doing a little research before class. Next week they were going to be talking about soulmates and how they’re presented in the media. Akaashi decided to do a little research of his own, he was more confident now, but how did other people handle situations like this? Did they all talk about it together? Were there any downfalls? Did it work out in the end? 

Akaashi was confident about what he was going to do; all he had to do was tackle this one person at a time, and next was Bokuto. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the fourth chapter and have a good morning/afternoon/night! 
> 
> Can anyone guess what kind of notification Kenma got? (It may be important later on lol)

**Author's Note:**

> And that was the end of the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, then please keep an eye out for updates as I will try to update this as much as possible :)


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